It's unfortunate it's coming along at this moment. Faculty members have not gotten a raise.
-- Kevin Cope, LSU Faculty Senate president

The LSU Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on -- and likely approve -- a pay raise of more than 9 percent for football Coach Les Miles, one of its members told NOLA.com, offering a new slant on an age-old debate: does a high salary for a football coach send the wrong message for an institution whose mission is education and which is currently facing significant fiscal challenges?

LSU Coach Les Miles and the Tigers take on Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.The Times-Picayune

Stanley Jacobs, a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors and former president of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the team's primary booster organization, told NOLA.com that he expects Miles' salary to approach $4.2 million after negotiations are complete.

And Miles is worth the money, he said.

But this pay hike is set against a backdrop of severe budget cuts for the state's flagship university, which has resulted in faculty layoffs and a reduction in some services.

"It's unfortunate it's coming along at this moment," Kevin Cope LSU
Faculty Senate President said of Miles' new contract, which came on the heels of an overture by Arkansas to take over their football program. "Faculty
members have not gotten a raise."

The debate ultimately will be settled by the Board of Supervisors,
which must approve both a contract extension and pay-raise. LSU officials
said the contract was still being negotiated so complete details have not been
released.

"LSU head football coach Les Miles, who became the second-winningest coach in Tiger football history during the 2012 season, will receive an increase in salary and a contract extension following LSU's bowl appearance this year," Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva said in a press release issued two weeks ago.

Currently earning $3.85 million a year, Miles is considered the fifth highest paid coach in the country, according to a USA Today college football coaches' salaries database. If Jacobs is correct about the amount that Miles' pay will be bumped, he will still be the fifth highest paid football coach.

LSU currently pays Miles a base salary of $3.75 million, said Charles Zewe, LSU System vice president for communication and external affairs. The remaining portion of the salary comes from unspecified sources, according to the USA Today database.

The database also shows that Miles' base pay from the university was $300,000 as recently as 2009, and $3.4 million came from unspecified sources. But in 2010, his LSU base salary shot up to more than $3 million.

This same period -- January 2009 -- marked the beginning of more than $92 million in budget cuts to the university, according to budget information on LSU's website. This resulted in the elimination of academic programs, services and the loss of about 10 percent of its faculty. In 2012 alone, LSU faced budget cuts of up to $19 million.

But this period was also a time when the LSU football program brought in $69 million in revenues between 2009 and 2010 alone, according to a Wall Street Journal report. So not only has the athletic program been able to afford Miles' salary, it has also brought in critical revenue that has been shared with the rest of LSU.

Proponents for powerhouse football programs conclude that
the more the team wins, the more alumni are willing to donate money.

And documents seem to bare that out.

According to IRS forms, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, a
private non-profit that supports LSU and the athletics program, saw donations rise 14 percent the year after the Tigers won the 2008 national championship. That translates to $32.4 million in donations in 2009, IRS records show.

The foundation, however, saw a drop in donations to $28.3 million in 2010, when the Tigers had 9 wins, 3 loses and lost their bowl
game in the 2009-10 season.

The LSU athletic program has informally transferred money to other LSU departments in the past. But during a September board meeting, the board approved a formalized athletic transfer fund policy, which has the Athletics Department transferring up to $7.2 million annually to help with LSU's academic, research, public service and other missions. The agreement is to last through the 2016-17 fiscal year, totaling roughly $36 million over the next five years.

Fiscal Year 2011-12 Athletic Fund Transfers

5 percent Overhead Administrative Charge: $4.68 million

Chancellor's Discretionary Fund: $217,000

Classroom Building Fund: $500,000

Campus Environmental Fund: $480,000

Donation to fund the business education complex: $640,000

Academic Center for student Athletes: $1.46 million

Cope, however, said nearly half of the funds coming from the athletic department pay for services the department actually uses.

Miles is extremely popular with LSU students. On the day of Miles' press conference, NOLA.com reporters visited the campus to ask students whether they wanted Miles to stay. Miles received overwhelmingly support from students, most of whom cited his wins and recruiting prestige.

"LSU should approve of Miles' contract," a headline in LSU's college publication, The Daily Reveille. The article describes how Miles is a winner and LSU fans should be happy that he has agreed to another seven years with the university.

"Miles has kept us a top 10 program," said Jacobs, the board member. "I been with LSU a long time and when I was president of
the TAF, we were losing."

Jacobs said when he was the chairman of the Board of
Supervisors they decided to fire head coach Gerry DiNardo, after going 2-8 in
1999. LSU went hired Nick Saban in 2000 and, after his departure, the
university hired Miles.

Jacobs said the University
of Michigan offered Miles
$4.2 million and $4.5 million, and Miles declined it both times and took the
rollover contract from LSU.

"His recruiting has been out of sight," Jacobs said. "Kids really like him and they play their hearts out
from him.

Jacobs said based on Miles' reputation and players, Alleva's pay hike recommendation is reasonable, saying, "The new contract should be approved."